


1/2 Small Children Prefer Swords To Swimming

by PoisonHemloc



Category: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Video Game)
Genre: Drowning, Everyone lives!AU, Gen, Learning to Swim, if you're reading this on an app an not ao3 they're making money off my work so. dont., learning to sword fight, semi-realistic depiction of drowning related trauma, we're calling the divine child Mizuho btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:21:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21739795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoisonHemloc/pseuds/PoisonHemloc
Summary: Kuro asks Wolf to teach him how to use a sword (And later how to swim)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	1/2 Small Children Prefer Swords To Swimming

**Author's Note:**

> I know I do the funny titles to make up for my inability to choose cool or profound ones but this ended up a little more intense than I planned.
> 
> This is for Emil, who does not have an AO3 account to tag.

Wolf sheathed his sword and straightened up. Now that Isshin had returned to his normal rooms, the small dojo under what had been his watchtower room was almost totally abandoned and was a good place for the only Hirata retainer to practice his swordsmanship. Normally he preferred to be out of the castle entirely, but the deep snow had forced him inside, if only for comfort.

It was  _ almost _ abandoned. He heard quiet footsteps, which was a relief; Genichiro walked loudly, like a samurai that owned this land and did not know the meaning of the word stealthy, and Wolf was running out of ways to “accidentally” trip him every time they passed. Since the Ashina lord did his best to shove Wolf into the nearest wall when they saw each other, he felt he was allowed. 

The footsteps had not been Emma, as he expected; she occasionally used this dojo as well. It was Lord Kuro. Wolf knelt as his master walked closer; he probably had a task for Wolf, something to help as they figured out how to get Wolf and both Divine Heir and Divine Child to, well, the Divine Realm. 

“Wolf. Lady Emma told me this is where you went. Are you… practicing?” Kuro had been helping Genichiro more recently, as the man finally started to come back from the Rejuvenating Sediment. They had been figuring out a peace treaty of sorts with the Interior Ministry. Though it was slow going finding areas where either group was willing to compromise, the ministry was a lot more willing to try diplomacy with the news that Isshin was no longer sick and probably would be alive and a threat for the next decade or more.

“Yes, my lord. This dojo is generally deserted, so I can avoid Ashina’s samurai.” Despite Isshin declaring that Wolf was allowed to come and go within the castle, most of the castle’s inhabitants remembered him carving his way through their colleagues to get to Kuro, and no declaration from the country’s former lord would stop them from taking, if not their pound of flesh, at least a few drops of blood. Recovered or not Genichiro was among them, and when your leader is actively shoving someone you also dislike into walls when they pass by… well, Wolf tried to stay out of people’s way unless he was walking with Kuro or Isshin, since no one would try anything near the other lords. 

“Could… you teach me?” Wolf blinked in surprise; this was definitely not a request he had ever anticipated, knowing Kuro’s general demeanor. The lord had never expressed interest in fighting. Kuro correctly guessed that his surprised silence was due to confusion. “I know that I don’t really need to learn, since I can’t bleed, but I can’t fight back if I don’t know how to, either.” Now Wolf looked at him with some alarm.

“My lord, is someone threatening you again? Di-” Kuro cut him off before Wolf could really begin to worry about failing in his duties. 

“Not anymore, Wolf, just, before you came to Ashina. There was Genichiro, mostly in the last year before you got here, though he was only pressuring me, he never tried to force me into anything. One of the generals did grab me at one point but, well,” Kuro smiled; his teeth were noticeably sharper than a normal person’s teeth due to the Dragon’s Heritage. “He learned not to do that, between the bleeding and Genichiro yelling at him. But I feel like it would be helpful in the future, once we remove the heritage.”

“I will have to ask Lord Isshin. I don’t have any training swords, and I would rather not use Ashina’s without permission.”

“Of course, Wolf. Um.” Kuro looked nervous, for a moment. “He has offered to teach me himself several times, but that was before he got better, and I never wanted to say yes, in case his illness made it harder for him than teaching was already. And he hasn’t offered since, so...”

“I doubt he will be upset, but I will ask if he would like to teach you.”

“Thank you.”

Isshin was surprisingly doing paperwork when Wolf appeared. He looked up as the shinobi entered, and merely nodded as Wolf knelt, waiting for him to finish. After a few minutes, he sighed and straightened the stack of paper before turning to Wolf.

“Sekiro, wha- is that sake?” Wolf generally came to the Ashina lord prepared; he had found a jar of unrefined sake, which Isshin loved. Emma had been futilely trying to convince him not to drink while he recovered, with her only success being that it was a chore now for Isshin to get drunk. Wolf could just about tolerate the smell but couldn’t drink sake, so any he found tended to go to Isshin or the Sculptor. 

“For you, Lord Isshin.”

“Alright, I’ll take it. But I have a feeling this gift comes with a request.” Isshin raised an eyebrow, and Wolf nodded. 

“Lord Kuro expressed a wish to learn the sword; I was hoping for use of your practice swords for him.”

Isshin grinned. “So he finally asked you. He was never willing to let me teach him, though I offered a few times. Emma thinks it was because I was sick and he was worried, but I was wondering when he would realize it’s safer to have a strong offense and not just rely on being able to bite someone. Feel free to use the practice swords and the smaller dojo; less people there to give either of you trouble.” Wolf nodded and left Isshin to enjoy his contraband sake before Emma found out.

Mizuho was napping in the library, book still open on her lap but a blanket around her shoulders, when Wolf arrived at the lookout tower room. Kuro nodded from his place in the middle of the room and walked over to the quieter corner. 

“I’m glad she feels safe enough to sleep here, Wolf.” Kuro kept his voice quiet. “She mentioned rarely wanting to sleep at the temple because the monks were always trying to find a way inside.”

Wolf nodded in agreement. He had sworn an oath only to Lord Kuro but had been growing protective over the Divine Child as well. “I asked Lord Isshin about using the practice swords, and he seems enthusiastic about the idea. He is not upset that you asked me, either. Lady Emma guessed why you refused and told him. So until we have decided on our approach to the Divine Dragon, I am happy to teach you.” 

Mizuho had begun stirring once Wolf entered, and woke up and stretched before Kuro could respond. “Oh, Wolf, I didn’t hear you come in.” She walked over as Kuro turned back to Wolf.

“How soon can we start? It doesn’t have to be immediately, but I’m not doing anything else except plan for the trip to Fountainhead Palace and occasionally help with the treaty, but there’s too much snow in the way right now to travel.”

“Whenever you desire, Lord Kuro. We have use of the smaller dojo I was practicing in.” He looked at Mizuho, but before she could ask Kuro explained.

“Wolf agreed to teach me some sword fighting techniques. I know you don’t want to learn, but would you like to come with us?”

“There is space to read in the dojo without being in the way.” Wolf added, in case she needed more encouragement. He tended to feel better when both of them were nearby, so that protecting Kuro meant protecting her as well. Mizuho smiled.

“Let me get my book, and I would be happy to come.”

Kuro got the hang of the practice stances quickly; he shyly admitted to watching samurai at the Hirata Estates train when he had been younger when Wolf complimented him. Mizuho had tucked herself into an out of the way corner and was alternating between watching Wolf and Kuro go over practice stances and cuts and her book. They had been practicing for the better part of two hours when Wolf had Kuro stop; he may not have been able to blister and bleed but the Divine Heir was definitely getting tired.

“Wolf, I think I’m finally getting the hang of this cut.” Kuro protested, looking slightly up at his shinobi. His breathing was a little heavier than normal.

“You are, my lord, but practicing even for this long takes stamina you do not have yet. I did not practice longer than this when I started.” Wolf left out that sword practice was just one of the many things Owl would drill him in every day; he had not practiced longer because he had generally been told to throw shuriken at targets or practice his stealth instead. 

“Alright, Wolf. Tomorrow, can we continue? After the morning meetings?”

“Of course, my lord.”

* * *

Kuro picked up the basics quickly, though Wolf made sure he was only using wooden practice swords well after the snow melted. It would be easier to transition to a metal blade- an unsharpened metal blade- if Kuro was proficient with using the wooden one first. Once the snow melted and it began warming up they started practicing outside, Mizuho generally nearby, reading or just enjoying the sunlight without the threat of the monks.

Today they were training near the moat, at Kuro’s insistence. It was generally cooler than the surrounding areas, and there were rarely soldiers or samurai nearby, though occasionally someone would pass by on their way to some remote part of the castle. Kuro was making steady progress, but did not want to practice around the Ashina samurai; Wolf worried that not all of the samurai were happy about the truce in the making, and being unable to take it out on Genichiro, Kuro was the target for their ire; Kuro had reassured him he merely didn’t want to be judged by masters while learning.

Kuro had also gotten to the point where Wolf would spar with him, but as a teacher, not the fast paced, live sword sparring he would do as an equal with Isshin or Emma. Wolf was borrowing a wooden sword of his own and was being consciously careful; just because he knew he couldn’t hurt Kuro did not mean he was willing to be careless.

Kuro had been insistent that Wolf not go easy on him sparring just because he was Kuro’s retainer, but he was still Kuro’s retainer, so generally their sparring ended when Wolf gently tapped Kuro’s shoulder with his sword. Only a handful of times Kuro had managed to win by landing a hit on Wolf, but that was how this spar ended.

“You are improving, my lord.” Wolf had automatically placed his wooden sword in his  _ obi _ above Kusabimaru, despite knowing he would need to return it to the dojo. Kuro had been wearing his with Isshin’s blessing. Wolf decided it was time Kuro start using the unsharpened metal blades that represented the next step towards actual sword fighting, and faced him. Kuro had told him not to kneel during their lessons, since he was the teacher. 

There was a sound behind them before he could tell Kuro; turning away slightly, Wolf saw a tall figure he recognized and disliked leaving a doorway. He turned back to Kuro rather than focus on the Ashina lord. “I believe we can begin using metal practice swords soon. I’ll let Lord Iss-” 

Genichiro had rarely passed by an opportunity to inconvenience Wolf since Isshin had dragged him back to Ashina by his ear; Wolf was only safe if he was talking with Isshin, Emma, or Kuro and Mizuho. And he wasn’t going to listen to whatever the shinobi was talking about, standing and facing the moat alone. 

He wasn’t willing to shove Wolf into the moat itself; there was a limit to what he could get away with, even as a lord, since this was a retainer for a cadet branch. He angled himself so that he was able to just shove the shinobi with an elbow and force him to lurch forward a step or two and  _ think _ he would fall into the moat, and then Genichiro would continue on his way to the outskirts before the man had a chance to rally and trip him. It was a solid plan that he thought had gone off without a hitch.

So he was very surprised when, after the expected grunt from the shinobi, he heard a higher pitched yell and a splash, and turned to look.

Wolf felt the elbow in his back; he had been expecting something like this once he saw the man. Genichiro seemed to be trying to knock him into the moat, but he could stop himself for falling forward. Mostly. He was still knocked forward enough to hit Kuro, standing between him and the moat. 

And Kuro fell backwards into the moat with a yelp.

Kuro could not swim; he had never had a reason to learn.  _ He isn’t carrying anything heavy except the practice sword but he has enough sense to let go of it and I’m a strong enough swimmer to pull him out if he doesn’t _ went through Wolf’s mind in the split second it took him to dive into the moat after Kuro. 

How had he sunk down this far already? It probably wasn’t more than a few feet as Wolf swam downwards, but it seemed like his lord was already at the bottom of the moat. Kuro was trying to swim, with his arms only; the moment Wolf got close enough he grabbed the man, trapping his good arm, and too late Wolf remembered not to get too close to someone drowning for exactly this reason. Wolf started to swim both of them back up, but he relied on having both arms free to swim quickly. Usually he could stay underwater for a long time, using his breathing techniques, but Kuro had knocked the air out of him. Doubtless Kuro had less air in his lungs, since he hadn’t been taking a breath as he went under. Wolf had to get both of them out of the water now.

He sighted on a decoration on the bridge and threw the grappling hook; it rarely worked from underwater but he needed to try as he kicked frantically and Kuro clung to his chest and arm. He watched its trajectory, doubting it would hit his target; almost always, the hook did not work well underwater. As he looked down at Kuro he felt the prosthetic begin to rewind itself, dragging them both up. He grabbed the railing with it the moment he was out of the water, and used the momentum from the hook to swing himself and Kuro onto the bridge. Kuro let go of him once they were standing on something solid and half collapsed, throwing up water; once he could get a breath in, he nodded to Wolf, kneeling next to him in concern, but was trying to focus on breathing in between coughing.

Wolf was wheezing as he turned towards Genichiro, standing next to the railing. The scrapes and blood on the samurai's hands showed how the hook had worked; the man must have grabbed it and held on while it rewound. The gesture did not ease Wolf’s temper and he started talking as soon as he had enough breath to do so.

“Lord Kuro does not know how to swim. You could have killed him, were you even paying attention-” 

“Do you think I haven’t realized that?”

“If I couldn’t swim, what would you-”

“Lord Genichiro.” Kuro was still wheezing slightly, but he put a restraining hand on Wolf’s arm; Wolf had grabbed his sword hilt, intending to make sure Genichiro pay for possibly almost killing his lord. “Perhaps you will stop harassing my retainer now? I have refrained from talking to Lord Isshin about your behavior so far, but if you are still so angry you do not care who else could be hurt by your actions perhaps you still need a retainer accompanying you.” Kuro rarely sounded this upset, and Genichiro hadn’t had any color in his face since he saw he had knocked his cousin into the moat. He might have been willing to shove and snap at Wolf, but he did actually care about Kuro. 

“I- yes. Ar-”

“I am sure you have pressing business elsewhere, Lord Genichiro.” He hesitated, then nodded and left, looking back frequently enough to almost trip over a cart before he turned a corner. Kuro looked up at Wolf.

“Thank you, Wolf. I am sorry for grabbing you like that. I think I panicked.”

“That is a normal response if you are drowning, my lord, I should have offered the prosthetic arm for you. But…” he paused for a moment. Mizuho had leapt to her feet when they had gone under, but she probably couldn’t swim either; she had joined them on the bridge as Genichiro left. “Would like to learn how to swim? I know of several areas that would be good for learning.” 

Kuro was shaking slightly, but had started nodding before Wolf finished speaking. “Even if we don’t spar here anymore, learning can’t hurt. And I think I would like to be prepared if that happens again, since I doubt Genichiro will totally stop even after I tell Lord Isshin what happened.” Wolf looked at Mizuho, now standing next to them, looking less worried since both of them were talking and upright, even if they were both dripping wet.

“Would you like to learn as well? I would be happy to teach both of you.”

“Yes, I would love to. Even if I am not at risk for being pushed into a moat.” Kuro smiled shakily, then coughed again.

“First, my lord, we should go talk to Lady Emma. Inhaling water like that is not good for you. I can-” he looked around; his practice sword was still tucked behind Kusabimaru, but Kuro had dropped his in the water. “I will retrieve the practice sword later, Lord Kuro, and return it when you go to talk to Lord Isshin. Lady Emma should be in her operatory today.” Kuro nodded and quickly led the way inside, he and Wolf dripping on the floor the entire way upstairs. 

* * *

Wolf had found a spot where one of Ashina’s rivers naturally spread out and formed a small, shallow pond of sorts. It only came up to his waist at its deepest point and looked good to teach swimming. Mizuho was enthusiastic from the start; Kuro, however, had not emerged from almost drowning totally unscathed and had started trembling the first time they had come up here. Instead of learning to swim with Mizuho, he was slowly overcoming his new fear of deeper water. For the first two weeks he had only entered the pond with Wolf holding him above the water; now, he was willing to walk until he was ankle deep, and no further, watching as Wolf helped Mizuho practicing her strokes.

Wolf had insisted on alternating what they learned each day so as not to stress out Kuro by going to the pond every day; he was also still helping a much more cautious and apologetic Genichiro with the treaty. 

“I know we should be determining how to get to the Divine Dragon, Wolf, but things keep happening.” Kuro sighed after swimming lessons one day; they had started an hour later than normal because he was sitting in while Genichiro was negotiating land boundaries with the Interior Ministry’s representative. 

“Of course, my lord, but I believe it might better to wait until both of you know how to swim.” Wolf had been checking on the Fountainhead Palace the night before and realized this suddenly. “Much of the path to the Divine Dragon is flooded. You won’t need to swim underwater for as long as I did to get into the palace itself, not since I opened the front gate, but it is very easy to slip and the water there is deep.”

“Really? Then… maybe it is better if we learn this first.” Kuro shivered slightly; he could stand in this shallow water, and if he could see the bottom he was generally alright, but he was still nervous around the moat. Swords and arrows may not have been able to kill him, but no one was sure if drowning would have, or what would have happened if Wolf hadn’t gotten him out so quickly. No one wanted to find out, either. 

There was silence for a few minutes as Kuro and Mizuho sunbathed and Wolf looked around the area.

“If we get tired of always being here, there is always the pond around the Inner Sanctum.” Mizuho did not have a traumatic experience she was trying to move past and was having a lot of fun learning to swim, though she was careful not to flaunt it in front of Kuro. “Now that most of the monks are gone, it should be fairly peaceful.”

“Possibly next week.” Wolf replied. He had been talking to Emma about the best way to help Kuro with this new fear; she had told him it would take a lot of time and patience, but he always had both for Kuro, even without the quiet voice in his head insisting this was his fault, for being close enough to knock Kuro into the moat to begin with. “Lord Kuro, would that be alright? Most of the pond there is ankle deep; there is a small part that comes up to my knees.”

“That… would be alright, I think.” Kuro had stood in the water near the shoreline for most of their practice two days before but had barely gotten wet today. Emma had told them that would happen and was normal. “As long as it isn’t just a pond.”

“The sanctum is its own building, with a porch, and ground around it, just there’s a small waterfall and a shallow pond around it. You don’t have to get wet at all.” Mizuho reassured him. 

“Alright. But we’re still sparring tomorrow, right, Wolf?” He looked up hopefully. 

“Of course, my lord. I was going to have you start using a new technique tomorrow, if Lord Isshin is available.”

“What new technique?” Now Kuro looked excited; he seemed to have forgotten the water next to them. “One of Lord Isshin’s? Is it the Ashina Cross? Or Ichimonji? Or, or-”

“You’ll get to learn it tomorrow, Lord Kuro, as long as Lord Isshin can demonstrate.”

This did not deter Kuro; for the entire trip back to the castle, he and Mizuho were guessing what new move he would learn while Wolf, smiling slightly, deflected each guess.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be happier than it was but I went down the rabbit hole of "what happens when someone starts drowning" and then "what are common things that happen after someone almost drowns" and now the Divine Heir is traumatized. 
> 
> Next one shot will be happier, I promise... to try.


End file.
